Review The Lord Gave Me a Temple in singing time this month with this fun What Comes Next word game! Work together to solve for the missing words and figure out keywords in the song!
This activity is a fun, simple way to see how well you primary children know this song by leaving out some of the words!
The Lord Gave Me a Temple What Comes Next?
This song is a bit of a mix of a word representations activity and a logical conclusions game! When I was a primary music leader last year, these were some of the activities that my primary kids loved the most!
My senior primary kids especially enjoyed the challenge of trying to solve a puzzle and show me how smart they were! This game does just that! It can be a challenge that isn’t too difficult for the kids.
I’ve created 8×11 posters with lyrics for the first verse of the song. You’ll notice that some words in the song have been removed and replaced with dots. The challenge of this activity will be trying to figure out which word each set of dots represents!
At the beginning of primary, start by reviewing the first verse of The Lord Gave Me a Temple. Feel free to grab this cute flipchart for the song here!
Post the What Comes next posters with dots representing keywords on the board. Ask the kids: “What do you notice about the song? What’s missing?” You might also want to point out that some of the dots are the same color. Why might this be?
Have the kids try to figure out which words are represented by dots. If you are using this activity with younger primary kids, you may want to take it one page at a time.
Then, have one child at a time come up and write the correct word above each set of dots to help the kids remember what the dots represent. For an extra challenge, skip this step!
Sing through the song a few pages at a time. Sing the keywords LOUDER than the rest of the words. Continue reviewing the song and filling in the keywords for each set of dots.
I’ve included 3 extension ideas below that include different ways to use this activity in singing time, such as adding actions and having each class work together as a group!
What Comes Next Dot Words Examples:
I’ve included the dot words for verse 1 of the song here below. You can choose to write these phrases on the board or keep scrolling for our printable version later in this post!
- “The … gave me a … to live within on …” – Missing keywords are “Lord,” “Temple,” and “Earth”
- “Once in … I was … but I left my home at …” – Missing keywords are “Heaven,” “Spirit,” and “Birth”
- “I’ll make my … brighter, I’ll keep my … free” – Missing keywords are “Temple” and “Spirit”
- “My … is a … my … gave to me” – Missing keywords are “Body” “Temple,” and “Father”
Extension Activities:
- Pair each keyword with a different action! Start with one action for all the keywords, such as jumping, clapping, or patting knees. Each time you sing a keyword, do the action! Then, try using different actions for each keyword.
- Assign each class a page or two of the song at the start of primary. First, have each class work together to determine what their dot words represent. Then, have them sing their assigned page(s) for the class! You can also have them stand and teach their section to the group.
- See how well your primary kids can sing the song without the words! If you have all the pages taped on the board, turn over a few pages and sing the song. Then, turn over some alternate pages and try singing it again! Eventually, try singing the song with all the pages turned over.
For another singing time activity using dot words, you might enjoy this Gethsemane What Comes Next idea!
The Lord Gave Me a Temple What Comes Next Printable
This 4-page printable includes the lyrics and dot words for the first verse of the song. You’ll notice that the dots representing the same word are printed in the same color, such as “temple” and “spirit.” This can be a helpful clue for your primary kids.
Just print out all 4 of these pages and post them on the board during primary. You may choose to only reveal one page of the song at a time or show the entire song at once. It’s totally up to you!
You’ll find a bonus challenge with the references to self indicated and printable charts for the 2nd verse included in the INSTANT Primary Singing membership when The Lord Gave Me a Temple is the featured song of the month!
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Grab this darling The Lord Gave Me a Temple Draw the Song idea for an engaging way to review this song!
Did your primary children enjoy this activity? We’d love to hear your feedback!
